President Obama abolished private student loans, eliminating banks and saving an estimated $61 billion over 10 years through lower government costs. Now, federal student loan interest funds Pell grants for needy students, community and minority colleges, plus a percentage of that interest income funds deficit reduction and health programs. Health care, budget deficit, and students win.

Romney will end this cost-saving, deficit-reduction efficiency and return the loans and profits to private banks — hello cronyism! Deficit deepens, students lose, banks win.

Increased tax revenue is essential if we are to adequately fund government expenditures and tackle the deficit. Two nonprofit research groups, liberal and conservative, calculated tax liability for Obama and Romney — based on their most recently released personal tax history — using their opposing taxing guidelines.

Based on the only details Romney has provided — 2010 return — and assuming inflation, his adjusted earnings might be $23 million, Romney would pay an effective rate of 34 percent under Obama, but only 13 percent under Mitt — even lower than the 15 percent estimated for his 2011 return. The difference is Treasury revenue of $7.8 million (Obama plan) vs. $3 million (Romney plan). America loses $4.8 million revenue under Romney’s plan to cut his own tax bill.

Obama’s tax bill wouldn’t differ as dramatically because earned income rather than investment rates apply. Obama’s 2011 return shows an effective tax rate of almost 21 percent on about $790,000 in income. Under Obama’s plan, that rate would climb to 28 percent — under Romney’s plan, it drops to 18 percent. The difference is $248,000 vs. $158,000 — America gains $90,000 under Obama, who prefers to pay his fair share.

Romney’s overall tax plan is incomplete, however he may advocate limiting middle class deductions, such as mortgage interest, medical expenses, state/local taxes, child care. Mitt plans to eliminate the much-despised AMT, which affects the rich and some middle-class taxpayers. He proposes pairing upper income tax cuts with deep reductions to Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security, but he’ll exceed Pentagon requests by billions. Low income taxpayers don’t make campaign contribution, so Romney and the Ryan budget increase taxes on the working poor.

Republicans favor bankrolling the ultra-rich by abolishing the estate tax, protecting subsidy welfare to energy and farming operations, and gambling our federal lands to unregulated exploitation. At risk is the loss of increased royalty income from oil/gas production on federal lands, which President Obama boosted by 50 percent this year.

House Republicans recently defeated a bill to compel private mining companies to pay royalties to the USA for gold, silver, uranium, other minerals excavated on federal lands. Under GOP policies — paraphrasing a familiar punch line — corporations get the gold “... American taxpayers get the shaft.”

Romney charges wasteful spending and attacks President Obama for America’s ‘prairie fire of debt’ yet he lobbied and “..got record funds from the federal government” for 2002 Olympics, government ‘nourishment’ he repeated when governor. Olympic funding totaled an unprecedented $1.5 billion taxpayer involvement. Romney’s salary was “over $100,000” and thousands of “We Love Mitt” buttons — one less political campaign expense.

Mitt’s opportunistic dedication to materialism is countered by his aversion to denouncing radical hate-mongers, unmasking a man whose over-riding priority is more self-interest than championing average Americans with whom he has no reciprocal business interests.